Category: Saving Money

Like many people, you might have a personal list of shalts and shalt nots for 2010. Alongside resolving to lose weight (after the excesses of holiday fare) and to save money (after the horror of your credit card statement), you may well have some eco-friendly resolutions (perhaps made when faced with that mountain of wrapping paper…)

As we all know from bitter experience, New Year’s Resolutions often don’t last beyond January. In fact, a recent study confirmed this: most resolutions fail, with 78% of us giving up. So if you’re making a whole host of great green promises to yourself – that you’ll never leave a light switched on unnecessarily, you’ll always buy organic meat, you’ll avoid excess packaging – then you may find that you’ve given up before long.Continue reading “Are Your Eco-Friendly Resolutions Doomed to Fail?”

It’s holiday season, and that means … parties! When you’re hosting a gathering, it can be easy for the costs to mount up – to your wallet, to the planet, and even to your sanity. Here are some ways to have a great time, without busting your budget, without suffering green guilt, and without getting stressed out. Sounds good? Read on (and don’t forget to add your own tips in the comments at the bottom).

During the busy holiday season, sticking to eco-friendly principles might be the last thing on your mind. You may well have developed great green habits in the office and during your daily routine at home – but Christmas often brings up challenges that you may not have thought through. Of course, you won’t want to spend hours dithering over the environmental pros and cons of every choice, and you don’t want to be the Christmas kill-joy who refuses to send cards or wrap presents – so here’s how to make sure that you and the planet both have a fantastic Christmas.

For many of us, especially in the west, meat is seen as a key part of dinner, if not lunch and breakfast as well. Here in the UK, “meat and two veg” is still some folk’s conception of a proper meal. Vegetarian options are seen as a boring alternative. Particularly amongst some men, not eating meat can seem dismayingly girly. Others raise worries about lack of protein, vitamins and iron.

Of course, much of this is nonsense. All the nutrients in meat are available from other sources – and there are plenty of tasty vegetarian dishes that’ll make you glad you went for something meat-free.

You might wonder why eating meat affects the environment – and you may also have questions about the personal benefits of cutting down your meat consumption. I’m going to address those in this post.

On average, we each use 50 – 70 gallons of water per day in the home — that’s around 70,000 – 100,000 gallons per year for a family of four. Cutting down on your water use at home isn’t just a great way to do your bit for the environment … it’ll also save you a significant chunk of cash on your water bill. If you follow all five tips below, you could easily save $100 a year on your bill. (Based on an estimate of $1.50 per 1,000 gallons.)

With Labor Day comes the fall! While leaving the warm weather and longer days behind isn’t the most exciting news, the fall has its own charm. It’s a wonderful time to take in the cooler temperatures and enjoy the beautiful changing landscapes. It can also be a great time to do some preparation in and around the home for the winter.

While chores aren’t the most exciting things to do in the cooler weather, they really pay off when it’s cold outside and your heating bill’s going up. The average American home spends almost $1000 on heating costs per year, so it’s worth spending a little bit of time to get your home ready for the fall and help cut those costs.

Plus, with a change of seasons comes the need for a change in clothing and accessories. By taking inventory of our winter suplies, we’ll know what we have instead of needing to run out to the store.

Grab your to-do list and make sure you’re doing everything you can to lower costs (and also help the environment).

[sniplet tweetright]For most of us, we stay up long after the sun goes down. We watch television, stay up on our computers, listen to music, read or whatever else we do with the lights on. What’s wrong with that? Well, we’re using more energy than we used to back when people didn’t have artificial lighting, but we’re also missing out on all of the fun things to do in the dark!

If you’re interested in saving some money on your electric bill, why not try a “night in the dark.” About 9% of the energy spent in an average American’s home is used on lighting. If we decrease the amount of light we use, we can decrease the amount of energy we use. While this may not seem like a lot of energy savings, this adds up.

If you don’t care how much energy you’re using, why not try a “night in the dark” just for fun. When the lights are out, our other senses kick in more intensely and we can experience some new and interesting things. Try a night “in the dark” and you might find you want to make a habit of it.

Without further ado, here are 8 ways to make your “night in the dark” exciting and fun.

[sniplet tweetright] Okay, let’s get straight down to business. You want to save the planet, I want to save the planet. All things being equal, so does just about everyone else.

Problem is, all things aren’t equal. Sometimes it seems like being eco-friendly is nothing but hard work and money. Have you heard how much those solar panel systems cost? Do you know how long it would take to install brand-new attic insulation? Serious environmentalists know the benefits of these things, but many regular people are put off by the apparent cost of entry into green-hood.

In this article, we’re going to set some things straight and show you how everyone can find some ways to go green. Yes, even people who are really busy and don’t like spending money can help. These tips will not only make you more eco-friendly, they’ll also save you a collective $600+ every year. And they won’t take long to do, either.

Here are 5 simple eco-tips that will save your time, money, and planet: